I will be adding to the "How We Give Back" series further on down the calendar, because I don't want anyone getting the impression that the House of Weirdz spends a lot of time breaking our arms patting ourselves on the back. My purpose in writing about that topic isn't self-congratulatory, but to offer people ideas that they can modify to their own lives...that ideas for giving back aren't rocket science. That little things really DO count...and little things, taken together, can become big things. *shrug* But I'll write more about that later.
What I feel compelled to write about today is something that has been weighing on my mind lately, and yes...it can be taken into the political sphere to some degree, when considered in the broader "War on Women"...but that isn't why it's on my mind. The topic I want to write about today is Third-Party Reproduction. Specifically, I am thinking about Egg Donation.
Some people know that, though I don't advertise it, I was an egg donor from 1999 to 2001. In that time, I donated the maximum recommended number of times (six) and with a 100% success rate -- and all multiple births. (Yeah, yeah...a dozen or so little Denises & Denephews out there...be afraid...be VERY afraid...) I was called upon in 2002 to be an egg donor again, for a woman in Japan, who had attempted IVF (in vitro fertilization) some twenty-seven times unsuccessfully...and she did not care that I wasn't Asian, but that I had a 100% success rate, and that the outcomes of all my donations were healthy, live births. I agreed to go through the procedure, only to have it abruptly cancelled by the recipient, who, finally, accepted that the chances of becoming successfully pregnant with a donor egg were not altogether much better than the many, many times she attempted IVF. The ego stroke here was that I got to keep my 100% success rate. And I received partial payment for good-faith services, even though the process was not completed.
Egg donation, these days, pays decently. The idea of "donation" in this sense is something of a misnomer. Yes, donors are *giving* their eggs...but they are paid (handsomely) for the hormonal upheaval they put their bodies through, the health risks they undergo as part of the ovarian hyperstimulation, and for the surgical procedure itself. Egg donation is not quite as simple as sperm donation...and sperm donors are paid to ejaculate into a cup. Heck, if only egg donation were that simple. The pricetag for egg donors has increased drastically in the years since I was a donor. A typical first-time donor can earn $5,000 for her service...my first-time payment was half that amount. Donors with a success record such as mine receive increased payments with successive donations. This, of course, has led to exploitative measures by prospective couples who are willing to pay out serious coin for college students with certain physical characteristics and IQs -- basically treating donors as chattel.
Here's the thing. I didn't go into egg donation for the money. Sure, the money was nice, and I would be a liar if I said that wasn't the case. But that wasn't why I became an egg donor. I don't feel any need to go into specifics about what prompted me, during my early teen years, to make the decision that someday...after I had kids of my own, that if there was any way I could help another woman become a mother, then I would. So after my 2nd child was born, and I saw an ad in passing about egg donation, I committed the phone number to memory. (I was in the middle of a move from Texas to Hawaii when I saw the ad, and thankfully, the number was extremely easy to remember...hell, I still remember the number to this very day: 800-411-EGGS ...heh.)
So yeah, I put my name in the hat about six months after having moved to Hawaii. The woman who ran the agency (and who would become a very dear friend) warned me to not get my hopes up in being selected for donation, because I was not Asian, and because I was not an islander of any kind. She was just as surprised as I was that I was selected within a month of becoming one of her prospective donors.
Donors who work with reputable establishments have to go through batteries of physical and psychological examinations...family medical background screenings...examinations of reasons for becoming a donor... et cetera ad nauseam. I didn't mind any of that. For me, it was just par for the course.
In the decade between then and now, I have no regrets. None. I have introduced people to third-party reproduction, and have friends who have become donors and surrogates, as well as friends who were struggling with fertility and were not aware of all of their potential options. Note - I never gave anyone *advice*...because everyone's situation is unique, and their needs are as unique as they are. For some, adoption really is the most beneficial option. I'm not a physician, so I'm in no way qualified to say what is "best" for any woman. I just put the information out there, and let people pursue the information as they see fit.
The reason that egg donation has resurfaced in my thoughts after more than a decade since having been a donor is that I'm experiencing certain physical symptoms that are ...well, possible indicators of early menopause. Again, I'm not a physician, so I'm not self-diagnosing (I don't do that)...I have an appointment set and blahblahblah... but the symptoms are what prompted the curiosity on my part. I am a curious person...I am a researcher. So curiosity leads me in often entertaining directions.
The curiosity about this led me to hunt for any actual studies done on long-term effects of IVF and hyperstimulation by donors. Plenty of studies have been done - on possible long-term effects of babies born thanks to medical science and third party reproduction. Certain immediate risks about hyperstimulation are well-known, and donors are often required to sign a waiver stating that they are fully aware of those risks. What I'm learning, though, is that not all women are advised as thoroughly as I was, and that only about 20% or so of women who become donors are made aware of the potential risks - at least the risks that are known. There is, to date, no centralized donor registry to track donors across decades, and there are still many unknown risks. Yeah yeah, correlation doesn't equal causation...I hear you, and I get it. I already got reminded by a well-meaning family member to not jump to conclusions -- articulating a brand of trust in medical ethics and "studies must have been done" -- as though I hadn't already thought of that. As though I hadn't already hunted for that information. The fact is, because there is no database, no registry...for donors specifically...no long-term studies have actually been done. Yes, I thought of a possible comparison study for IVF patients, but that wouldn't be the same, either. Generally speaking, IVF is only done once or twice in a lifetime by a person. The Japanese woman who sought me out because of my success rate is a HIGHLY unusual case. The procedure is cost-prohibitive, for one thing. Insurance only covers IVF once-per-lifetime, per patient. So no, studies about IVF patients would not quite parallel studies that would be conducted for long-term effects on egg donors...especially not multiple egg donors such as myself. The studies do not exist. A gradual increase in reports about potential risks is surfacing, but doesn't really answer my specific questions. I'm glad for those reports, mind...gives me an idea of things to keep my eyes open for, BUT my specific questions are still unanswered.
When the question is asked about potential early-onset menopause as a result of multiple egg donations, the answer given is still "no"...based upon the same reasoning given to me more than a decade ago, when I initially posed the question. The exact answer given, from well-respected John Hopkins Medical is:
No. The ovaries contain approximately 400,000 - 500,000 eggs at the time of puberty. Only 400-500 of these will develop to the point of ovulation during the course of the woman's childbearing years. The remaining 399,500 eggs undergo a process called atresia. This means that they fail to mature and are gradually absorbed by the body between puberty and menopause.
Because of the large number of these “spare” eggs, there is no evidence to suggest that the use of fertility medications or egg donation will decrease the egg reserves in such a manner as to lead to premature menopause.
This is the same answer I was given, back when menopause wasn't even any sort of concern for me...the same logic applied, even though no long-term studies had been done...and a decade later, no long-term studies have yet been done. It's still being assumed that because of the large (though finite) number of cells women have in their bodies, and only a teensy percentage of those cells are developed and released between puberty and menopause, that there is no reason to wonder about whether hyperstimulation multiple times could possibly lead to premature menopause.
I will mention that my menarche occurred when I was ten years old. I will note (repetitiously) that I donated six times, and began a seventh cycle. I will note that I was considered *extremely* fertile in hyperstimulation, with the largest number of viable cells extracted from me in the mid-20s (which was considered extremely unusual in a serendipitous way). I will note that I have had three pregnancies of my own, and three healthy childbirths. I will note that almost thirty years have passed since my menarche.
Those things there, coupled with many symptoms indicative of premature menopause, have me wondering. Of course I will be talking with my doctor about this, but since no long-term studies have been conducted, I cannot help but wonder just how much my doctor will be able to answer.
Hmmmm.
Moving along....
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